The General Post Office (GPO) Kolkata is celebrating its 250th anniversary commemorating the installation and appointment of the post of the first Postmaster General by Warren Hastings on 31st March of 1774. I had the privilege to be a part of this festivities and was invited to lead a Heritage Walk along with two of my friends. During my initial research work, one question that kept coming back to me constantly was about the architect who had designed the GPO. I had known about Walter Long Bozzi Granville and his work for some time and among his other prominent work in this city was the Calcutta High Court, Indian Museum, etc.
While visiting the Kolkata GPO I was frankly quite taken aback as from the outside one can never truly understand the grandeur of this building.
About Walter Long Bozzi Granville
Before we discuss about the GPO building and the history of postal services in India, I thought we might take a look into the life of the person who designed this building.
Walter Long Bozzi Granville was born in the year 1819 in London and had a very short life of only 55 years with his death in the year 1874. His father Augustus Bozzi Granville (1783-1872) was a doctor and they resided at 16 Grafton Street near Berkeley Square in London. The original house on this street is no longer seen and is now taken over by modern showrooms and art galleries.
Ironically Walter Long Bozzi Granville was more Italian than British. His father Augustus Bozzi was born in Milan, Italy on the 7th of October 1783 to Carlo Bozzi (father) and Maria Antonietta Rapazzini (mother). Maria had an English mother by the name of Rosa Granville who was the daughter of an English gentleman married to an Italian and had settled in Italy.
Augustus Bozzi completed his MD studies in Pavia, Italy in the year 1802 from there on he traveled around the world from Venice to Istanbul (Constantinople) to Malaga etc. Ultimately, he decided to settle down in London and in the year 1814 adopted Granville as the surname which he got from his maternal grandmother Rosa Granville.
Walter Long Bozzi Granville was born in the year 1819. He did his schooling at St. Paul’s School in London. After his schooling, he went to École Polytechnique in Paris which is considered amount the top 100 universities in the world.
He was a (RIBA) Royal Institute of British Architects qualified architect which he had attained in the year 1842. By now he was residing at 109 Piccadilly in London.
Not much is known as to what he did with his educational degree after this but we do get to see that he had started a business dealing manufacture and dealer of agricultural implements. Clearly, this business venture failed miserably and he had to file for bankruptcy in the year 1851. Back then he was residing at Red Lion Square in London.
An interesting anecdote out here would be that of the connection between Walter Long Bozzi Granville and Charles Dickens the noted novelist. Charles Dickens used to edit a monthly magazine called The Household Narrative of Current Events and in its 1851 – 1852 (December – January) edition, we find that his name is mentioned under the section of Commercial Records (Bankrupts).
The first major architectural work done by Walter Granville was the church of St James in Hatcham. Ironically his brother was the first vicar of this church. The design was first showcased at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in the year 1849 which proves that he had been practicing his design works along with his business which had failed a year later. Or perhaps it was with the help of his brother who was the vicar of this church that he had got this opportunity that we may never know.
The foundation stone of this church was laid on the 18th of June 1853 and was completed a year later when it was consecrated on the 17th of October 1854. Additional sections were added later by other architects and designers.
He failed miserably in his business adventure but his design and architectural skills excelled and proof of that was finding his name in the Directory of British Architects, 1834-1900. By 1855 he was also voted and accepted to be a part of the (Royal) Society of Arts.
Walter Long Bozzi Granville in India
He came to India in the year 1858 as a part of the Eastern Bengal Railway (Eastern Bengal State Railway). After which between 1863 to 1868 he was the Consulting Architect to Government of India and Special Architect to Bengal.
During his illustrious sting in India, he designed some iconic buildings such as the Calcutta High Court building, the Senate House of Calcutta University which unfortunately does not exist anymore, the Indian Museum in Calcutta, and the GPO at Dalhousie Square.
Perhaps his last work in India was the Kanpur Memorial Church which still can be seen in the Indian city of Kanpur near the Cantonment. This church was constructed in the year 1875 when Walter Long Bozzi Granville was already dead (1874). This is one very interesting design by him considering its somewhat similarity in terms of the main layout of the outer structure with his earliest work in London that of the church of St James in Hatcham built in 1849. The similarities can be easily passed off as the Kanpur Memorial Church being a refined version of the St James in Hatcham.
The Kanpur Memorial Church was built in Lombardic Gothic style which originated in Italy perhaps linking his original paternal link to its roots especially the Monastery of San Felice in Pavia where his father had originally done his education. This type of architectural style heavily relied on an open brick-like façade.
Walter Long Bozzi Granville died in 1874 at a very young age only two years after the death of his father. He had been suffering from a heart condition which ultimately proved fatal. Not much is known as to where he was buried as at the moment of writing his blog could not find any concrete evidence of his last resting place in India especially Calcutta. In most probability, he must have died in London which I must investigate further later.
Short History of Postal Services in India
(This portion is also featured in another blog post:- Postal Museum Kolkata)
During my research for this blog, I came across various documents that suggested that some sought of mailing service existed as old as the time of Mohammed Bin Tughlaq during early 1300. This account was narrated by the famous traveler Ibn Battuta where he mentions “There are in Hindustan two kinds of couriers, horse, and foot; these they generally term ‘El Wolak.‘ The horse-courier, which is generally part of the Sultan’s cavalry, is stationed at a distance of every four miles. As to the foot couriers there will be one at the distance of every mile occupying stations which they call ‘El Davah‘ and making on the whole three miles; so that there is, at the distance of every three miles, an inhabited village, and without this, three sentry boxes where the couriers sit prepared for motion with their loins girded. In the hands of each is a whip about two cubits long, and upon the head of this are small bells. Whenever, therefore, one of the couriers leaves any city he takes his despatches in one hand and the whip, which he keeps constantly shaking, in the other. In this manner he proceeds to the nearest foot courier and, as he approaches, shakes his whip. Upon this out comes another who takes the despatches and so proceeds to the next. For this reason, it is that the Sultan receives his despatches in so short a time.”
India being divided into multiple kingdoms resulted in various kings and rulers having their messenger services and one famous of these was that of Sher Shah Suri (1541) using the famous Grant Trunk Road as an information highway using houses this was further developed by Akbar. Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar of Mysore (1672) and other smaller kingdoms even used regular courier services to transfer flowers and fruits as offerings to temples. Famous would be that of the rules of Udaipur who would send a regular offering to the temples of Pushkar.
Then came East India Company and it was important for them to maintain a regular mail link between its different states like that of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay. Robert Clive (1766) can be considered as one of the pioneers of the modern postal service in India. He introduced the concept of regular mailing routes with the help of local landlords and zamindars who would deploy runners to transfer mail. Further development was done to this system under Warren Hastings and on 31st March of 1774 the first Postmaster General was appointed and the postal service was also extended for private use.
The next great change took place with Act XVII of 1837 with which East India Company had the exclusive rights over postal services in its territories abolishing all private mailing services. This was followed by the Act XVII of 1854 which signaled the formation of the Indian Post Office system. Under this, the department was headed by a Director General further appointing Postmasters General.
Indian Post Offices was recognized as a separate organization of national importance by Lord Dalhousie. It was placed under the unitary control of a Director General, Henry Phillip Archibald Buchanan Riddell, on 1st October 1854. This constituted of 645 Post offices and 55 Receiving houses.
In 1883 saw the first combination of postal and telegraph services and later became an integral part of the postal system.
After this, the post and telegraph department became an important channel of communication in India and various new acts and laws were passed to further define the service functionality of the postal department in India. Post-independence Indian postal services became one of the largest mailing services in the world using air, land, and sea routes to deliver mail.
Locations of Calcutta GPO
The current location of the GPO is not the only location where the GPO was located historically. If we look at the timeline we find several locations across Calcutta where the GPO had existed in some form or the other.
- Government House (Raj Bhavan)
- Church Lane – Hastings Street (Old Post Office Street)
- Sudder Street
- Metropolitan Building
- Bankshall Street (Fairley Place)
The GPO of Calcutta
An interesting anecdote is the fact that the GPO was originally designed by Matthew Digby Wyatt in the year 1857. He was best known for his interior designs of the India Office in London and the Rothschild Mausoleum. His design was however not selected as it was deemed not classical enough.
The responsibility of designing then was given to Walter Long Bozzi Granville who created a classical masterpiece.
The construction of the building started in 1864 and was completed within two years in 1868. The eye-catching structure of this building is its large dome at the corner which rises to a height of 220 feet and houses a two-faced clock on the front side. The dome is supported by 28 large Corinthian Order pillars between Schinkelesque (after Karl Friedrich Schinkel) pylons (large monumental gates) on either side.
The building has a floor area of 48,184 square feet. The building partly sits on the original location of the Old Fort William a link which still is visible with the Brass Lines and the marble plaque located on the outer side as well as from the inner side. This is the same place where historians have debated to house the famous Black Hole of Calcutta (1756).
The main clock with three faces placed in front of the dome was installed later in the year 1896 and is said to have been manufactured by the same company who had manufactured the Big Ben in London. It is to be noted that Big Ben in London was manufactured by E. Dent & Co. Ltd.
The building was constructed at a cost of Rs. 6,30, 510 which when taken into consideration of today’s valuation would be around Rs. 9,58,37,520.
Initially, the building housed the office of the Presidency Postmaster which however was shifted to the other building (a red-colored building on the southwestern side). That building now houses the Postal Museum and the Philatelic Bureau along with the office of the Director of Kolkata GPO.
The Kolkata GPO Now
Logically speaking the GPO of Kolkata is a rather small building considering the volume of services that it offers. This shortcoming is overcome by the presence of another building constructed on the southwestern corner for the Director General of The Post Office of India which now houses the Postal Museum and Philatelic Library. Another building nearby is the Dead Letter Office which also is a functioning arm of the postal services mainly as a sorting branch.
The GPO of Kolkata also houses the Philatelic Store and the newly inaugurated Siuli – The Parcel Café. The GPO is a functioning arm and a wide variety of activities can be seen across the various sections. Throughout the day you will find different postal-related activities across the various rooms in the main building.
How To Visit Kolkata GPO
The Postal Museum and Siuli is open to the public during its scheduled working hours. The public sections of the GPO are easily accessible to the general public. The office sections including the back gate and terrace are restricted.
Other Blogs Related To Postal Services
Postal Museum Kolkata
Kolkata Dalhousie Heritage Walk
Location Of Kolkata GPO On Map
Resources
The admission registers of St. Paul’s school, from 1748 to 1876
The Jurist by Great Britain – 1851
The Household Narrative Of Current Events By Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870. Ed
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Volume 76 October 1983
Journal Of The Society Of Arts, Vol. 3, No. 131 By Edward Solly, Hugo Reid; Samuel A. Good, Sam. Sidney, A. Cotton
Directory of British Architects, 1834 – 1900
British Architecture in India by Gavin Stamp
The Handstruck Postage Stamps of India by D. Hammond Giles
British Library
The Post Office of India and its story by Geoffrey Clarke
Times Of India
RIBA
Incredible India
India Post
University Of Houston Library